Drive mechanism



1951 E. J. BERGER ET AL 2,540,645

DRIVE MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Oct. 15, 1947 9 Sheets-Sheet l m 23 N Q N Q} q E WITNESSES INVEN'I'ORSI BY WW ATTORNEYS.

Feb. 6, 1951 E. J. BERGER ET AL 2,540,645

' DRIVE MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Oct. 15, 1947 9 Sheets-Sheet 2 WITNESSES INVENTORS':

Hazmrd/f. M252, CA 9, a BY A TTORNEYS.

Feb. 6, 1951 E. J. BERGER ET AL 2,540,645

DRIVE MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Oct. 15, 1947 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 I N VEN TORS Ezlzz'llfiezyem llawardzf. Wesi,

A TTORNEYS.

Feb. 6, 1951 BERGER AL 2,540,645

DRIVE MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Oct. 15. 1947' 9 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVEN TORS. 11071 Bayard; Hawam'li. M982,

A TTORNEYS.

WITNESSES Feb. 6, 1951 E. J. BERGER ET AL 2,540,645

DRIVE MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Oct. 15, 1947 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 WITNE 555.- I INVENTORSI fi t E/llill Bezgaw Howardlf- W521,

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ATTORNEYS.

1951 T E. J. BERGER ETAL 2,540,645

DRIVE MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Oct. 15, 1947 9 Sheets-Sheet e '36 M 19b 52 lg 33 35 o Q l O 32 30 M WITNESSES I 5112211 fiezgezfi M Hawardli Wesf, 0 a BY W W ATTORNEYS.

I INVENTORS.

Feb. 6, 1951 E. J. BERGER ET AL 2,540,645

DRIVE MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Oct. 15, 1947 9 Sheets-Sheet 7 S70 J06 STA/PT 3 15:

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I J m }112 5 WITNESSES I N V EN TORS EzrzzYlZier em? Wfim Howard]%sf; By W 6 ATTORNEYS.

Feb. 6, 1951 BERER ET AL 2,540,645

DRIVE MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Oct. 15, 1947 9 Sheets-Sheet 8 SW J06 6541?? 2Q 77 76 FZGJ.

sroP J06 rm/er 76 7f 75 Hall- 55 WITNESSES INVENTORS. Emzllliezgemfi M flawardKm kst, Q BY W W ATTORNEYS.

Feb. 6, 1951 J, BERGER ET AL 2,540,645

DRIVE MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Oct. 15, 1947 9 Sheets-Sheet 9 STOP JOE smr i Z Z2. 1 16.22.

WITNESSES E ;:17VVENT0RS'-' mafia/1 212 32,

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Patented Feb. 6, 1951 DRIVE MECHANISMFOR KNITTING MACHINES EmilJ. Berger and; Howard K. West; Lansdale,

Pa, assignors to Dexdale Hosiery Mills, Lansdale, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application October 15, 1947, Serial No. 779,947

7 Claims.

This: inventionrelates to. drive mechanism for knitting machines. More particularly, it is concernedwithdrive mechanism for straight knitting machines such as are ordinarily employed in the production of flat full fashioned stocking blanks and. the like.

The chief aim of our invention is to provide a simple and reliable electrically-powered drive mechanism which can be readily adapted to existing knitting machines of the kind referred to,-at relatively small cost; which is automatically operative to vary the speed of the machines as may be required or desired during various phases of a stocking knitting cycle; which will yield in the event that the drive shafts of the machines become lockedor jammed for any reason; and which will automatically stop in the event of mal-operation of the sinker actuating catch bars of-the machines;

How the foregoing and other objects. and advantages are realized in-practice will appear from the following detailed description of the attached drawings, wherein Fig. 1- is a fragmentary view in front elevation, of a,- straight knitting machine embodying our improved drive mechanism.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary View showing the organization in end elevation.

Fig. 3 is a cross section of the machine mechanism with the electric appurtenances diagrammatically indicated.

Fig; 4' is a fragmentary view in elevation lookingas indicated by the angled arrows IV-IV in Fig. 3.

Figs. 5 and 6 are fragmentary views in section taken: as indicated respectively by the angled arrows VV and VI-VI in Fig. 4.

Fig. '7 is a broken out fragmentary view in elevation looking as indicated by the angled arrows VII'VII in Fig. 3.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken as indicated by the angled arrows VIII-VIII in Fig. 2 of a clutch means embodied in the drive mechanism.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken as indicatedv by the angled arrows IX-IX in Figs. 1 and 8.

Figs. 10-13 are perspective views of different components of the clutch means Figs. 14-17 are fragmentary views in section corresponding to Fig. 3 showing. the catch bar of the machine in different positions assumed there.- by during its actuation; and

Figs. 18-22 are diagrammatic views showing the electric connections under different conditions of operation.

The knitting machine chosen for convenience of: exemplifyingoun invention is of the type disclosed in U. S. Patent No. 1,982,991; granted to Kenneth Howie and. Charles C. Kri'eble on DB- cember 4, 1934. The drive shaft of" the machine indicated. at It (Figs. 1. and 2): rotatively supported between a side frame I9 and an afilxed outboard bearing bracket 20. Through speed reduction spur wheels 2| and 22 (Fig. 1) the shaft 5:8 communicates motion to the main cam shaft 23 which is journalled in bearings respectively aiforded by the frame is and the corresponding frame-24 at the opposite side of the machine. Mounted on the main cam shaft 23 are. the usual rotary cams 25 and 26 by which the necessary lift and horizontal movements are imparted to the catch bar 2.1 through the interposed elements 28, 29, 3 .3, 3!, 32. and 33 respectively. The catch bar 2'! actuates the sinkers 35 and dividers 36 (see Figs. 14-17.) in proper timed relation with the knitting needles 3'8 to kink the knitting yarn after a manner well understood in the art. The usual narrowing chain 38 (Figs. 3-6) of the machine is trained about a sprocket wheel 39 and intermittently rotated by racking mechanism whereof the ratchet wheel only is shown at All in Fig. 4. The sprocket wheel 35? is mounted on a longitudinally extending shaft 32 in the lower part of the machine alongside of a drum M which is free on said sh aft, said drum having ratchet teeth 43 arranged. to be picked by a pawl 44 under control of the narrowing chain 38, likewise in the usual manner. Axial shifting of the cam shaft 23, as required during fashioning phases of the knitting, is accomplished by mechanism 45 which is controlled through actuation of a finger 46. by cam lugs such as shown at il, on the chain 38. The finger it is fulcrumed on a fixed stud 48 which has an upward projection 46a whereto a horizontal link :59 is connected at one end. Each time that a chain lug 4'! passes beneath the finger 46, the rod 49 is shifted to the right whereby the means 45 is caused to carry out its cam shaft shifting function in the way clearly set forth in the Howie et al. patent, supra.

The drive mechanism with which our invention is more particularly concerned, includes high and low speed electric motors and El which are supported in the interval between the frames l9 and 24 on a bed 52. As shown the shafts 53 and 5 4 of the meters 553 and 52 are provided with wheels 55. and 56. which are connected by a belt 5?. The bed 521s pivo ed on a rod 5% whereof one end is fixed in the side frame it near the bottom (see i. and 2), and the other end is fixed in a smaller auxiliary frame Secured to the shaft. of motor 5% is a second ed. it. which, by means of a belt 5!, is connected to a larger wheel. 52 freely mounted on the drive shaft: it? of the machine between the side frame it and the outboard bearing bracket 26. The belt iii. is maintained in tension by the wei ht of motor 58 which. over balances the Weight the motor 5! as. a. consenuence of the off center pivoting of the. bed 52, see Fig. 2. Keyed to the shaft 58 alongside the: wheel 62 isa disk 63 whereto. is. pivoted at 64, a lever 55. The short arm 65a of the lever 65 is formed with a beveled finger 651), which, when engaged with a notch 62a internally of a peripheral flange 62b of the sheave 52 as is normally the case, causes the disk 63 and the shaft 18, whereto the latter is secured, to rotate. The long arm 550 of lever e5 terminates in a sector projection 55d in concentric relation to its fulcrum 64. The outward swing of the lever 65 is limited by a stop stud 63 projecting from the disk 63 which latter also carries a detent or latch lever 57 whereof the fulcrum is indicated at 6%. As shown, the latch lever 6'5 is in the form of a bell crank, and by means of a spring 69 influential upon its long arm 61a, said lever is urged clockwise so that its short arm S'ib is maintained in yielding engagement with the sector projection 65d of lever At its outer end, the short arm 5% of the latch lever '6? has a bevel tooth projection Eic adapted to enter one or the other of two notches 65c and @Ef in the sector projection 65d of lever 55. The collars indicated at T and it serve to prevent axial displacement of the wheel and clutch assemblage 52, on the shaft l8. As before stated, the disk 63 is normally clutched to the wheel 62 with the finger 65b of lever '55 engaged in the notch 62a as shown in Fig. 2, said lever at such time being so held by engagement of its notch 55c by the tooth b'ic of latch lever E7. In the event that the machine should become jammed for some reason with attendant stalling of shaft it, the bevel surface of the notch in sheave in reacting upon the bevel on the finger 55b of le er 65, will cause the latter to be swung to the position shown in Fig. 9. By engagement at the same time of the tooth bio of latch lever B? with the notch 85 in lever also as in Fig. 9, the latter will be restrained, whereupon the wheel will. revolve idly about the shaft is under drive of belt 6i. After the diiiiculty has been corrected in the machine, the clutch is re-set by restoring the lever 65 to the normal position in which it is shown in 2 with the of a screw driver or other conven ient implement inserted through an aperture '52 provided for the purpose in disk 63.

For the manual control of the drive mechanism, we have provided. a switch be l5 (see Fig. 3) which for convenience of ready access, is mounted on the bracket projection lea at the top of side frame which has start, jog, and stop push buttons #5, "i? and 5% respecvely. Electric current for operating the motors and is supplied through line conductors so and Si. Interposed in the ircuit wiring to the motors is a relay 82 whereof the armature 83 is arranged to operate two contact switches 8 and 85. With the parts positioned as in Fig. 3, pushing of the Start button it and closing of its switch 92 results in connection of the high speed motor 56 across the line 85 and 85. The current flow under this condition will be as shown in full lines in Fig. 18, i. e., from the line conductor Bi? through leads bl, contact of button switch 78, lead 39, contact 53 of push button switch Tl, lead 9!, contact 92 of push button switch leads 9%, Q5, Q5 coil ill of relay and lead Q3 to the line conductor 3 i. By consequent energization of relay coil 5"! and op tion of its armature 83, current will in turn flow from line conductor Bil through leads 539, I'Eii, motor lead contact 52 of another switch 5% (to be later more particularly referred to), leads hi4 and 5&5, con act 85 of relay S2, and lead We to line conductor 8i. Upon release of the Start button 16 as in Fig.

19, the coil of relay 82, will be held energized to keep the high speed motor 55 running by current flow in a branch or holding circuit which includes the lead Hit, the contact 538 of a second supplemental switch 199 located in the control box lead 1 is, the contact i i l of a third supplemental switch H2, lead H3, contact 84 of relay 82 and lead Ht. Pressure upon the Stop button 78 will result in interruption of current fiow in the first described circuit through coil 9'! of relay 82 and hence in stoppage of the motor 50.

On the other hand, with the machine at a stand still and the parts positioned as in Fig. 3, pressure upon the Jog button 7'! as in Fig. 20 will be attended by current fiow from the line conductor 8%, through the leads 85, H5, H6, 95, 913, relay coil 9? and lead 93 to line conductor 3|, whereby the relay 82 will be energized to establish current flow to motor 50 via the leads 89, I99, iill, contact 182 of switch Hi3, conductors H34, H95, relay contact and 35. It is to be noted how-- ever that when the Jog button '5? is released, the circuit is broken to stop current flow to the high speed motor 50 which will consequently come to a standstill. In this way, the machine can be intermittently jogged under power of the motor 58 as may be required for setting up purposes or in making adjustments. During the various manipulations just described, the slow speed motor 5% simply runs idly under the drive of the high speed motor at through the medium of belt 53.

The supplemental switch I83 is relied upon to throw the drive of the machine from the high speed motor 59 to the slow speed motor 5| for example, during the fashioning phases of the knitting. The switch IE3 is arranged to be operated by a spring tongue piece I28 see Figs. 3 and 6 which is secured to the link 39 of the cam shaft shifting mechanism 45. When the link ib is moved to the right for actuation of the means 45, the upstanding cam projection iZfia of the spring tongue V28 lifts the contact H12 of switch M33 as shown in Fig. 21. As a consequence, the branch circuit its, H3! leading to the high speed motor 56 is broken, while at the same time current flow to the low speed motor 5! is established by way of a branch circuit i22, I23 as shown in Fig. 21. At these times the high speed motor 5i: simply idles under drive of the low speed motor by the belt 51.

With the switch 592 set as in Fig. 21, it is possible to stop the machine by pushing the button 78, and to subsequently jog it slow speed by manipulating button T! in a manner readily understood from Fig. 22. Also by pushing button 16, the machine can be restarted to continue running at slow speed until the cam lug 4? on the chain 38 passes from beneath the finger 56.

As an additional means for actuating the supplemental switch 33, we have provided a bell crank lever E25 which is secured to a rock shaft E26 journalled in an inward bearing bracket projection I27 on the side frame 26, .ee Fig. 5. As shown, one arm of the bell crank E25 underreaches the contact piunger of switch H33, and the other carries an adjustable screw 128 which rests on a finger I29. This finger i free on fixed stud lBfl and rests on the drum 4| in the path of a cam rise or rises such as the one indicated at 131. This latter provision is made for slowing down the machine during other phases of the knitting as for example at the be ginning of a stocking blank when the setting up course is formed.

The supplemental switch 109 is arranged to be Thus, assuming the machine to be operating at high speed after having been started as before explained by means of the button it, through lifting of the finger M8 by the first cam rise MI on drum @I, the supplemental switch I09 will be opened to break the circuit through lead It! contact I98 of supplemental switch I89 will be opened to break the circuit through lead It! contact 18 of supplemental switch I89, lead IIEI, relay contact 84, leads H4 and 96, relay coil 91 and conductor 98 with interruption, as a consequence, of current how to the motor 55 to stop the machine for welt turning. After the welt turning is accomplished, the machine is re-started by pushing the button it, and when the cam ris I42 of drum 4I arrives at the finger I40, the supplemental switch IE1 is again opened to cause automatic stoppage of the motor 50 upon completion of the stocking blank.

The supplemental switch H2 is fixedly secured to a boss Iiib at the top of side frame I9, see Fig. 3, and is arranged to be actuated under certain conditions presently set forth, by a finger Hi5 which is adjustably set upon a stud I46 upstanding from the catch bar 21, and which is undercut as at I i5a. When the catch bar 2! moves inward or to the right as in Fig. 15, the finger is advanced to engage the laterally projecting end Ulla of one leg of a V spring I41. The other leg of this spring is secured at its end to the casing of switch I I2 with its free portion overlying the protruding end of the plunger iIla of switch contact III. In Fig. 14, the catch bar 21 is in its forward position and lowered in readiness to retract the sinkers and dividers. In Fig. 15, the catch bar has performed that function and is raised to clear the butts of the'sinkers 36. During the normal operation of the machine and rise of the finger M5, the free end of spring is engaged and lifted slightly without affecting the switch IIZ. However, in the event that an obstruction, such as a broken sinker or divider butt such as indicated at B in Fig. 16, should prevent descent of the catch bar 21, the latter will be held raised while being moved inward. Thus as the catch bar 2'! nears the end of its rightward retractive shift, the finger I45 will directly engage the projecting end 141a of spring I41, causing the latter to be compressed to a maximum extent as in Fig. 17 with consequent opening of supplemental switch H2. When this happens, it will be seen from Fig. 3 that current flow to either of the two motors 50 or 5| which may be running at that time will be immediately interrupted and and the machine thereby brought to a stop.

Having thus described our invention, we

claim:

1. Drive mechanism for a straight knitting machine of the character described having a drive shaft, knitting instrumentalities deriving their movements from the drive shaft, and intermittently racked narrowing chain, said drive mechanism comprising a high speed electric inctor for normally powering the machine, a normally inactive slow speed electric motor mechanically coupled with the high speed motor; a drive connection between a fixed wheel on the shaft of one of the motors and a self-releasing overload clutch wheel on the drive shaft of the machine, an electric wiring circuit for the motors, and current flow control devices in said circuit including a switch constructed and arranged to be actuated from the narrowing chain to automatically out out the high speed motor and to cut in the slow speed motor for immediate reduction in the speed of the machine and slower operation during the narrowing phases of a knitting cycle.

2. The invention according to claim 1, further including manually operable starting and stop ping switches interposed in the circuit, together with a switch whereby the circuit can be controlled for jogging of the machine under the power of either one of the two meters.

3. The invention according to claim 1, in which the machine also has an intermittentlyrotated timing drum, and further comprising a supplemental switch means constructed and arranged to be automatically actuated from the timing drum to interrupt current fiow in the entire circuit for stoppage of the machine at the completion of the knitting cycle.

4. The invention according to claim 1, in which the machine also has an intermittently rotated timing drum, and further comprising means whereby the switch is automatically actuated from the timing drum for slower operation during other phases of the knitting cycle.

5. The invention according to claim 1, in which the machine is provided with needles and cooperative sinkers and a catch bar for actuating the sinkers; and further including another switch in the wiring circuit arranged to be automatically actuated by the catch bar in the event that it is prevented from descending over the butts of the sinkers, to interrupt current flow in said circuit.

6. The invention according to claim 1, wherein the mechanical coupling between the two motors comprises pulleys afiixed respectively to the shafts of said motors, and a belt connecting said pulleys.

'7. The invention according to claim 1, wherein a second wheel affixed to the shaft of the high speed motor is connected by a belt with the selfreleasing overload clutch wheel on the drive shaft of the machine.

EMIL J. BERGER. HOWARD K. WEST.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,754,681 Howie Apr. 15, 1930 2,003,766 Zwicky June 4, 1935 2,281,569 Fritsche May 5, 1942 2,343,485 Start et al Mar. 7, 1944 2,405,583 Lambach Aug. 13, 1946 

